Adopted
Licorice, one of Heidi's
female puppies was born on May 20th.
The Black Gold Litter was born 5/20/01 to Heidi. Heidi arrived in the last week of her pregnancy and it was far too late to spay her. Heidi's former owner told us the father is a Chocolate Lab.
The pups have been highly socialized with other dogs, children of all ages and adults. They are amazingly healthy and happy. The Lab/Golden Retriever cross is a great mix often deliberately bred for Service & Seeing Eye dogs. The cross breeding produces what is called “Hybrid Vigor” which means they should not inherit any of the typical purebred genetic tendencies (health problems) of either Labs or Golden Retrievers. In all actuality, they should be healthier and heartier than their purebred ancestors who have been so tightly inbred.
If you are interested in adopting one of the pups, please review the puppy section on our website to determine if a puppy is right for you and then fill out an adoption application ASAP. Each pup will be placed through the normal adoptive procedures of GRR.
October 3, 2000 Update:
Licorice is over 4 months old now and is growing up. Part of a large litter of puppies being raised by volunteers at GRR, Licorice is the puppy with the white star on her chest and two white "socks" on her front feet (which have black polka dots on them). She still has a bit of a puppy belly and all of her puppy teeth but is showing signs of becoming a teenager. Despite her gangly legs and occasional "tough girl" barks, she is still a sweet, cuddly puppy who wiggles and pokes her way into your arms when frightened. Right now she is asleep by my feet under my computer desk.
She is entirely housebroken and crates beautifully. At night she stays in our bedroom uncrated and hasn't chewed anything. Like all youngsters, though, everything goes into her mouth at some point so we try to keep temptations to a minimum. Also, as a puppy, her attention span is short, which makes obedience training slow. We are just working on "sit" and "heel" plus polite manners while accepting food treats. I have to walk her with a heavy choke chain collar to check her sporadic bursts of energy.
She plays well with my adult Golden male, mostly games of the nip and chase variety. It is so much fun to have a goofy, gangly puppy in the house again! She doesn't seem attached to any particular toy but will chew contentedly on beef bones for hours. For some reason, deep male voices unnerve her and odd voices from outside will prompt her to bark. She may just need to gain a little confidence in her new foster home, though.
She is so sweet and loving that I can imagine that she'd make a good companion for many different types of people with the proper training. She has a full lifetime ahead of her and could be someone's best friend for years and years to come.
View Pictures Here